An absent-minded professor's blog.

My new cellphone looks like a toy calculator…

Last Saturday, coming home from Raphael Pagarigan’s Open City exhibit, I had to pass through the dreaded thieves den that Cubao has been known for. En route to MRT from LRT2, my old old cellphone got stolen. The thief may be talented but he went away with the cheapest phone imaginable (though it had a great deal of sentimental value) and missed the more expensive gadgets: Mi-chan2 (Macbook) and Shin-chan2 (Lumix ZS3) are also in my bag. Har har.

Though I had always said I wanted a phone with a good camera — so that I can sneakily steal shots of the “forbidden” areas I’ve always wanted to chronicle — my actual cellphone needs are pretty simple. I just really needed something to text and call with. I may consider myself a geek but I can unplug myself, pick the practical options and let the artist in me breathe.

Besides, who can resist this cutie?

This is the Cherry Mobile P1, it only costs P999 and it looks like a toy calculator. I can hang it around my neck or my pocket, as if it were a key chain, and no one would be the wiser. Besides, what idiotic thief would go after something as cheap as this?

Check out the back:

It’s pink and glittery. I actually like the simplicity of its design and its humble features. (Its calculator has square root and I think I can use the laptop to charge the battery, judging from its port. Neat!) Those who remember old school Super Mario Bros. would probably appreciate the MIDI ring tones. Seriously, the meager selection brought back a lot of geeky memories.

Most importantly, it has an alarm clock.

And it’s actually a tad smaller than my credit card.

Love it! Love it so much, I’m calling it Chu-Chu (from Xenogears). And it will be a “she”.

I also want to thank Globe Telecom for the speedy service. They gave me a new sim with my old number. Just like that! *snap*

Update (August 20, 2010): The alarm clock works…sometimes. I don’t know what happened to my P1 but one morning, it didn’t wake me up. The next day, it did. Then it didn’t. Then it did. Now I’m borrowing my mom’s second phone to make sure that I have an alarm.

About The Author

Doc B is a crazy cat lady, a former behavioral scientist turned video game producer, and a full professor. She is an INFJ who is married to an INTJ game/software engineer. You can grab a copy of her book by clicking the book thumbnail below.